Good Morning! It is day two of our 3 night Disney Cruise and like all good cruisers, we went to the buffet!
Cabanas has a Finding Nemo theme. The murals were huge and so amazing! A camera can not do them justice. Can you find Nemo and Marlin?
As we entererend Cabanas we were among the first people there. Only half of the buffet was open at that time. There are lots of options for breakfast. The main thing Doug was concerned about was Mickey Waffles. The buffet was populated by Eggs, sussages, fruit, pancakes, and much more. There are even a full assortment of cereals and milks in small containers.
The view out our Port Hole as we backed into port.
As we were done with breakfast we headed to the gangway to head into Nassau. The Princess gathering was just starting. As you can see by looking at the iPads in front of us, Cinderella is heading down the stairs. The princess gathering is a great way to meet lots of princess in a short time. It may seem like a long line but you get to meet all the ladies at once. What you can do in 30 to 45 min on the cruise ship would take you most of a day in the parks.
Off the ship and heading toward customs.
As you can see, it is not crowed when you are one of the first people off the ship. Had we stayed to great some royalty on the ship I don't think it would have delayed us too much. The key was having breakfast early and getting on with the day.
By getting off the ship early we were able to get this shot of the Disney Dream. If we had waited and slept in by the time we made it here there would have been two more ships docked between the Disney Dream and Nassau.
We arrived outside, after navigating our way through the "festival House" or the customs building that is more like an officially licensed flea market.. You are greated by dozens of cab drivers and other trying to "give you a ride." We were good with walking. Our goal was to find the Queen's Staircase and Fort Fincastle. We wandered past the Parlament building and there were a few statues in the park.
The walk to the Fort is not too far. About 6 to 8 blocks is all. The walk is mostly up hill, but the way back is downhill, so it evens out. We managed to walk a little more because the "festival house" makes you exit at the far end and that threw us off a little on our orientation. Combine that with the many cab drivers asking to give you a ride, and we just wanted to walk as far away from the chaos. Doug just walked in the most convenuent direction to get a block or so down the road before looking for a street sign. He claimed to memorize the route to the Fort and was looking for a couple street signs. This was more of a challenge than he planned, because the city of Nassau does not fully believe in the use of street signs.
So after a few wrong turns, and walking past one smelly dead cat, we found the Queen's Staircase. The lower enterance is located by a parking lot and not extremely well marked. When we approached the entrance, a guy started talking to us about the staircase giving us all kinds of great info. It was like he was just passing the time standing by being a tour guide. Well, we learned that he was just the first of many "tour guides" we would encounter. After his rather lengthy talk, he held his hand out for a tip. Fortunately, we had a few dollar bills on us. For the rest of the "guides" we just kept walking.
Once we found it and we were done with our "guide" we were able to enjoy the place. It was neat.
Lots of steps. Also they are very steep and get slippery when wet. We were glad we found them to go up because neither of us really wanted to use them to come down.
Handed our camera to couple still wearing their Disney Cruise Line lanyard. I figured we would know where to find them since we could see them wearing their room key right out in plain site.
Once we got to the top of the steps, the fort is just of to the right. Near the entrance to the fort you will find tour buses parked.
We bought our ticket to go in for just a few bucks and found more "tour guides"
The view could be one of the best of the port with the cruise ships. We managed to get here in time too, before the other ships docked blocking the view of the Dream.
This is the water tower. They seemed quite proud of it, so I took a picture. It is easy to spot from the deck of the cruise ship but it was hard to see as we were walking to the stairs and fort. Doug thought we would be able to use it as a land mark to get there easier and that clearly back fired.
After a few minutes at the fort, we walked back downhill to find the straw market. This is picture of the Parlament building. Just a touch smaller then what we find in D.C.
A look down Bay Street. Lots of jewelry stores.
And the straw market which is only a couple blocks from the entrance/exit of the Festival House. We wondered through the rows of stuff and got the girls little bags and had the lady put their names on them. Alden got a little turtle thing made out of a coconut shell.
We headed back to the Dream after the Straw market. It is amazing the size of the ship.
You just don't get use to a view like this
After our adventures into Nassau we went back onboard to take a few spins on the Aqua Duck and swim a little in the adult area. Doug sat in the pool and got in on a conversation about the pros and cons of the Disney Vacation Club. There is an end of the pool that has seats around the edge just like a hot tub. I got some sun and relaxed some on the top deck.
We also ran into Donald.
Got a little snack at the Vista Cafe.
Then it was time to change and grab a late lunch. We had pizza and burgers at the counter service area. It is so strange to just walk up and ask for food and walk away without paying.
After lunch we we wondered around the decks some before we got ready for Pirate night. This is the view back towards the fort and water tower. As you can see there is now a ship docked between the Disney Dream and Nassau.
Donald got shot off the Aquaduck. The white tube going into the funnel is the Aquaduck.
Lots of areas to take in the sun on deck 12 of the adult area.
This is as far forward as you can go on the top deck.
Doug was ready to go for pirate night
A view down at the forward most spot. You can see the Teen club Vibe right in the front of the ship.
We ran into Pirate Minnie.
Then Pirate Mickey.
Tink informed me she does not like pirates.
Dinner that night was at Animator's Palate.
It is not just dinner - it is a show. Crush comes and talks to you on the screens around the dinning room. He interacts much like he does in Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot. It was funny and entertaining. It did not seem to interfere with dinner at all.
Doug thought he would pick the oddest thing on the menu for his appetizer. He got a shrimp and onion cheese cake. He liked both of those things separately, so why not put them together?! He was wrong! It was gross, but fun to try.
What was good was all the other food we had on the cruise. This is my steak and Doug got a Veal Trio. All very good.
Crazy animal in our stateroom after dinner.
Gold coin chocolates for pirate night.
The "Glow" of the ship was so pretty at night.
Beautiful sunset that night.
We were a little slow getting a spot for the pirate show. We went to the Villians Tonight show in the Walt Disney Theater and it was very enjoyable. Then we went up to deck 12 to watch the Buccanear Blast show and fireworks. They shoot them off the starboard side of the ship.
Immediately after the fireworks, there is a late night pirate buffet in Cabanas.
Pirates must like tacos, turkey legs, and cookies because that is what Doug found to eat. There were other options as well.
That raps up a long day 2 on the Disney Dream.
